In Which Winnie Halifax Is Utterly Ruined

Halifax Hellions, Book 3

By: Alexandra Vasti

Narrated by: Mhairi Morrison

In 1811, Winifred Wallace told one tiny lie. To secure her future as an independent sheep farmer, she invented an estranged husband named Mr. Spencer Halifax and forged their marriage record. Ten years later, her deception catches up with her in the form of the disturbingly real, distressingly attractive earl on her doorstep.

Spencer Halifax wants to set a good example for his beloved hellion sisters. Ever since their father’s death, he’s tried to play the role of steady, sensible earl—and involving himself with a moderately felonious sheep farmer is decidedly not sensible. But Winnie’s unfettered passion and fierce self-reliance draw him in, even as her closely guarded secrets keep him out.

When Spencer asks Winnie to travel with him to London to disentangle their semi-legal union, she’s horrified. London, after all, is where her infamous mother pilfered several lavish necklaces from besotted noblemen. But she cannot pass up the chance to return the stolen jewelry—so she agrees to travel with Spencer and give back the gems on the sly.

Returning the jewelry, however, is more difficult than Winnie imagined. Monkeys commit theft. Footmen tryst in inconvenient locales. And Winnie realizes that the only way forward is to trust Spencer with the truth of her past—even if doing so threatens their pretend marriage and the all-too-real feelings between them.

©2024 Alexandra Vasti (P)2024 Dreamscape Media

Sexy if a little frustrating

This series is that it doesn’t shy away from depicting pleasure, and those scenes are among the best written in the book (if not the best written). But, sometimes, the plot feels secondary to the sex. As if the author wrote the sexy scenes and the characters’ thinking about them first and filled in the rest of the set number of pages with the story. I think as long as you don’t mind that, it’s an entertaining story.

Very fun, VERY SEXY romance

My favorite of the series!!! I really loved these characters, loved watching Spencer fall in love with Winnie, loved watching Winnie protecting Spencer. I want to read it again and again!! (I didn't love all the GD cuss words though!)

In which Spencer is utterly smitten

Winnie to Spencer: “Are you mad?!”
This was a zero angst, rather madcap adventure with zero angst because Spencer goes along
with every outlandish thing Winnie does from the moment they meet.
Faking their marriage? Sure.
Telling an entire town he’s a philanderer? Why not.
Sneaking stolen loot back to the owners? Here, let me make a diversion.
It was fun as long as you’re not looking for plausibility.

“He lunged for his sanity- and his trousers.”
The second half of the book is all about the sex. It was well written, detailed without being crude, and
oh, so respectful (but for an occasional F bomb).

Is it wrong that I wanted Spencer to be a little less ‘let me hold your purse for you’ and more manly?
Or, perhaps not more manly, but I wanted a less one-sided relationship. With her making all the mistakes and him doing all the fixing of her mistakes, it didn’t seem like a healthy relationship.
The idyllic, too perfect, too worshipful romance made the story too shallow to really love it.